Lehr loader



J. W. ROSS Sept. 28, 1937.

LEHR LOADER I Filed April 28, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jamar Wflosm Patented Sept. 28, 1937 PATENT OFFICE.

' LEHR LOADED James W. Ross, Washington,

Hazel-Atlas Glass Company,

Pa., assignor to Wheeling, W. Va.,

a corporation of West Vir Application April 28,

7 Claims.

The invention relates to lehr loaders and means associated therewith to prevent the ware from toppling over when it is being delivered to the lehr.

It is the common practice in delivering glassware to the lehr to employ a pusher bar which periodically operates to sweep a row of bottles or other glass articles from the cross-conveyer onto the lehr conveyer. In the handling of certain types of containers, such as bulbous shaped bottles which have relatively small bottoms, panel bottles, etc., considerable difficulty and loss of ware is occasioned by the bottles being toppled over while they are being pushed onto the lehr. One of the objects of the present invention is to provide means which will automatically engage the forward side of the ware as it is pushed forward, and thus steady the ware and prevent it from toppling over during its transfer.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, from the following detailed description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings; in which,

Figure l is a perspective view of the steadying device in combination with one form of lehr loader; the loader being illustrated more or less diagrammatically.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the steadying device, shown in two positions.

Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of certain parts of the steadying device; and

Figure 4 is a detail plan view, partly broken away, and parts being in section.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, numeral l indicates the front end of a lehr, provided with the usual lehr conveyer 2. In the present form there is shown a cross-conveyer 3, of the endless chain type, which travels across the front end of the lehr to bring ware into position for delivery to the lehr; but obviously any other type of conveyer, such as a rotary table, can be employed for this purpose.

It will be understood, of course, that the steadying device is applicable to various types of lehr loaders, but merely for purposes of illustration there is shown more or less diagrammatically a loader of the type shown and de scribed in James W. Ross Patent No. 2,001,332, granted May 14, 1935. In this type of lehr loader a pusher bar 4 is attached to the lower end of a piston rod 5 of the cylinder 6, by which cylinder the pusher bar is raised or lowered. The cylinder and pusher bar are moved forward and backward by a horizontal cylinder 1. The operation 1936, Serial No. 76,811

of this type of lehr loader is well known. The forward movement of the pusher bar sweeps a row of ware from the cross-conveyer onto the lehr conveyer, the pusher bar is then lifted and moved rearwardly over the top of the oncoming ware, and then lowered into position ready to transfer the next row of ware.

The steadying device, which will now be described, is carried by the piston rod 5. Numeral 8 refers to a bracket which is adjustably clamped on the piston rod, in which bracket is adjustably mounted, as by set screws 9, a horizontally extending tubular member Ill. Arranged within the tubular member is a rod II, and mounted on the rod,at each end of the tube, is a plate l2; the plates being adjustably clamped to the rod by set screws IS.

The plates I2 are bored horizontally to receive the ends M of a ware steadying rod IS. The steadying rod is held in adjusted position in the plates l2 by set screws I6.

Numeral l1 refers to a block which is adjustably mounted on one end of the rod I I, and which is held in adjusted position by means of a set screw l8. This block carries means by which the steadying rod is swung downwardly into engagement with the front side of the ware, and upwardly out of engagement with the ware. Numeral l9 indicates a cam arm extending rearwardly from the block l1, and as the pusher bar moves forwardly to engage a row of ware on the cross-conveyer the cam arm rides over a pin 20.

Extending forwardly from the block I1 is a finger 2|, and the arrangement is such that when the pusher bar completes its forward stroke the forward end of the finger will asume a position directly over the piston rod 22 of a cylinder 23. The operation of the cylinder is so timed that when the pusher bar completes its stroke, bringing the finger into position over the cylinder, air pressure is admitted to the cylinder, thereby swinging the finger upwardly and thus causing the steadying rod to be swung upwardly free of the ware.

It is of course desirable to provide means for maintaining the steadying rod in the positions to which it is moved. It will be apparent that various means could be provided for that purpose, but in the specific embodiment illustrated a. spring tension plate 24 is attached to a block 25,

and the block is adjustably mounted on the tubular member ID by means of a set screw 26. The forward portion of the tension plate is bent outwardly toward one of the supporting arms of the steadying rod, and the extreme forward end is cut away intermediate the top and bottom, leaving an edge 21 and fingers 28 and 29 which are bent further outwardly, over and under the steadying bar, as clearly shown in Figure 3. The spring plate is adjusted along the tubular member ID until the edge 21 properly engages the steadying rod, and this engagement will frictionally maintain the steadying rod in any position to which it is moved, and the fingers 28 and 29 will limit the upward and downward movement of the rod.-

In view of the foregoing description of the preferred construction only a very brief description of the operation is necessary. The operation is best illustrated by Figures 1 and 2. In Figure 1, and in dotted lines in Figure 2, the pusher bar is just about to engage the row of glass articles 30, and the cam arm I9 is riding on the pin 20, the steadying rod being slightly inclined upwardly and out of engagement with the ware. As the pusher bar continues its forward movement and engages the ware, the cam arm l9 causes the steadying rod to be swung further downward into engagement with the forward side of the glass articles, thereby steadying them and preventing them from toppling over; and the steadying rod is maintained in this position during the remainder of the forward movement by the tension plate 24. In the specific form illustrated the steadying rod is shown as engaging the necks of the bottles, but of course it can be adjusted to engage any desired part of the forward side of bottles or other articles; and it might also be mentioned that instead of using a rod to steady the ware, a' plate or any other desirable means could be substituted.

When the pusher bar has completed its forward stroke, positioning the row of ware on the lehr conveyer, the finger 2| is over the piston rod 22 of the cylinder 23, and air pressure is now admitted to the cylinder thereby causing the piston rod to engage and move upwardly the finger 2|. As the finger and steadying rod are both carried by the shaft ii, the upward move* ment of the finger causes the steadying rod to be swung upwardly free of the ware, and the spring tension plate maintains the steadying rod in this position.

In the ordinary operation of lehr loaders the pusher bar is now elevated, moved rearwardly, and then lowered into position ready for the next forward movement to deliver another row of ware to the lehr. When the next cycle starts the steadying rod is again moved downwardly into engagement with the forward side of the ware, in the manner before described.

' By this simple and inexpensive device it is possible to deliver, in rows, bottles and other glass articles of various shapes,'to a lehr conveyer, without the usual loss of ware resulting from the toppling over of the articles during transfer. And obviously the device can be quickly and easily adjusted to handle ware of different shapes and sizes.

It is apparent that many changes and modifications of the apparatus may be made'without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What I, claim is:

1. A lehr loader including a pusher bar, a steadying member movable with the pusher bar, means for moving the steadying member into position in front of the ware as the pusher bar moves forwardly, and a cylinder and piston rod for moving the steadying member away from the ware at the'completion of the forward stroke of the pusher bar, while the latter remains Stationary.

2. A lehr loader including a pusher bar, a steadying member movable with the pusher bar, a cam for moving the steadying member into position in front of the ware as the pusher bar moves forwardly, and a cylinder and piston rod for moving-the steadying member away from the ware at the completion of the forward stroke of the pusher bar, while the latter remains stationary.

3. A lehr loader including a pusher bar, a steadying member movable with the pusher bar, a fixed cylinder, a finger travelling with the steadying member, the finger being operated by said cylinder to move the steadying member free of the ware when the pusher bar reaches the end of its forward stroke.

4. A lehr loader including a pusher bar, a cylinder for moving the pusher bar forward and backward, a second cylinder for raising and lowering the pusher bar, an oscillatable steadying member carried by the piston rod of the second cylinder, a cam for oscillating the steadying member in one direction, and a third cylinder for oscillating the steadying member in the other direction.

5. A lehr loader including a pusher bar, a cylinder for moving the pusher bar forward and backward, a second cylinder for raising and lowering the pusher bar, an oscillatable horizontal shaft carried by the piston of the second cylinder, 2. steadying member mounted on the oscillatable shaft, a cam arm carried by the shaft and extending rearwardly thereof for oscillating the shaft in one direction, a finger carried by the shaft and extending forwardly thereof, and a piston for engaging the finger to swing the shaft in the opposite direction.

6. A lehr loader including a pusher bar, a cylinder for moving the pusher bar forward and backward, a second cylinder for raising and lowering the pusher bar, a horizontal tubular member carried by the piston of the second cylinder, an oscillatable shaft mounted in the tubular member, a steadying member mounted on the shaft, means for oscillating the shaft, and means mounted on the tubular member for frictionally maintaining the steadying member in any position to which it is oscillated.

'7. A lehr loader including a pusher bar, a cylinder for moving the pusher bar forward and backward, a second cylinder for raising and lowering the pusher bar, a horizontal tubular member carried by the piston rod of the second cylinder, an oscillatable shaft mounted in the tubular member, a steadying member mounted on the shaft,'means for oscillating the shaft, and means mounted on the tubular member for limiting the oscillating movement of the steadying member.

JAMES W. ROSS. 

